Al Keller Posted February 8, 2001 Share Posted February 8, 2001 I've always been a Ford fan but as I plan my hybrid Z, I find that I can really go either way. I want 500+ hp and ft. lbs., carb or fuel injection (no adder), light as possible, 5 or 6 speed, very shallow oil plan in the front (to clear the C4 Corvette front cross-member - see "engine set-back" message in the "body section" of this site), inexpensive as possible. What would you suggest??? Thanks, Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pauli Posted February 8, 2001 Share Posted February 8, 2001 if you want it streetable, i would suggest an aluminum bbc... 500na hp definately wouldn't come cheap in small block form. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JAMIE T Posted February 8, 2001 Share Posted February 8, 2001 the small chevy will be the way since the oil pump and pickup are in the rear of the engine. Even Fords rear sump pans have a small sump in the front to clear the oil pump, they are called dual sump pans (like late model 5.0 stangs). Does the front C4 cross member unbolt or did you cut it off?Are you using the stock leaf spring or coil- overs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted February 8, 2001 Share Posted February 8, 2001 Al, I too have always been a "Ford man" but when it came time to decide on what to use with my project I decided to go with a Chevrolet. The main factor for me was the transmission, I really wanted to use a T56 and to do this with a Ford you are looking at $2000+. The second factor was the cost of building the motor. Although the cost of building a SBF has drastically gone down in the past few years due to the popularity of the 5.0 Mustangs it still is cheaper to build a small block Chevrolet. The third factor was the amount of documentation available for doing the SBC swap. There are a few Ford swaps out there but none have the amount of documentation available that is there for the SBC. Terry Oxandale's car is an absolute work of art, check out the members' rides section, but I don't have the talent Terry does for fabricating parts and I did not want to "re-invent the wheel". As far as 500+ HP with a Ford motor, "Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords" did a test with the new Ford 392 crate motor and got, I believe, over 500 HP. The only mods they did were swap in a Comp Cams mechanical roller and a set of AFR heads...pretty impressive!!! I would imagine you could probably duplicate that motor for a great deal less than what it would cost to buy it from Ford. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted February 8, 2001 Share Posted February 8, 2001 Yeah Chris is right about the Tranny. I'm going to be doing a Ford swap, but if I was wanting a 6sp, its real damn pricey to do still on the Fords. 500-550 HP should be no problem with the strokers, 393, 408's, 428 and 454 strokers are available and as one company put it "if the 454 stroker doesn't make 500Hp, your using a stock cam.." I know you said no power adders, but a supercharged 302 or 347 with hi flow injector components, forged parts, Twisted flow heads and a bottom end girdle will get you to 500hp relatively easily. If cost is an issue, you'll want to look at Chevy alternatives though. The strokers like Mikelly has (383) are good power producers and priced great. Six speeds are cheaper (although harder to find all the time) and its as Chris said well documented (hope to see that change soon with the rash of Ford swaps going on right now..). Good luck with it, Lone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted February 10, 2001 Share Posted February 10, 2001 I too am with Chris and Lone - I'm a Ford guy but when it really comes down to it I want reliable power! I also wanted a manual trans and 6speeds. Yeah, could've done this with Ford and I've got Ford parts and friends all over but... The SBC swap is documented, the parts are built (mounts etc), and it's just the easier path. You on the other hand are already taking the hard road with the suspension. Going Ford for you isn't that big a deal and a stroked 351W would probably get you pretty close to your HP goal - the 392 Crate motor from Ford looks niiiice. Going even bigger with Ford parts doesn't seem too hard either and seems more popular than for SBCs IMO. It's common to see 427 351W but I've yet to see a SBC in a street car that big. I'd also suggest not limiting yourself on power adders. A blown motor will hit that number EASILY and be much more docile. Blowers and turboes are flat out awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.